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From time to time I read about anonymous boards, sorta open-entry communities, formed around some phenomenon. The first example of such board is, of course, 4chan (no, I never read it — the “of course” is solely due to the large number of references to that particular website). As far as I know, anyone can post there and no registration/authorization is required. Very impressive, but…

The other extreme are closed communities, which often pose high difficulty to join (as high as personal acquaintanceship with a current community member). They are often completely closed to the outer world, which, of course, adds to the charm (no, I am not a member of any of them — the “of course” is only due to the hype around some of them). An example of these is leprosorium.ru. Again, very impressive, but…

The first kind of community is too large and not self-regulated. Basically, these are not communities at all. Not because they are too large, but because they don’t provide for strong permanent connections between community members. The second kind is too personal. For being able to engage into common activities and develop strong connections members have to reveal too much of their personal information.

I’m thinking of something, of a community that would share the features of both types. A limited-entry, invitation-based community of anonymous people. No nickname, no profile, no avatar — nothing. No ways to identify a community member, except if he/she identifies him/herself. No personal messages between, every discussion visible to every member.